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Settlements & Verdicts

Page Updated: December 23, 2022


Our Results: Verdicts & Settlements


You are looking for an attorney with a track record of verdicts and settlements.  You need to know the following information in deciding which lawyer to hire for that job:

  What is the difference between attorneys who advertise their “settlements and verdicts” versus those who show their “recoveries”?

♦   What is the #1 Priority for the lawyer working on your case (not as obvious as it may seem)?

  Is the settlement and verdict value of your case determined based on target numbers or ranges?

♦   How does the lawyer calculate the value of your case?

♦   What car accident injury settlement amounts have the lawyers recovered (some of ours are listed below)?

You will get those answers on this page, researched and drafted by an actual lawyer on our team.


Table of Contents


Injury Advocates Group Results

1.     Sample Injury Advocates Group Recoveries

Settlement & Verdict 411

2.     Difference Between “Recovered” Results & “Settlements and Verdicts”

3.     Priorities: Client Settlement Goals v. Law Firm Settlement Goals

4.     Lawyer Talk 411: Car Accident Verdicts and Settlements are Discussed with Ranges

5.     Pain & Suffering Settlement Focus

6.     Analyzing Settlement & Verdict Values

Get Help

7.     Accident Settlement Q&A

8.     What Injury Advocates Group Does For You

9.     Getting Your Free 30 Minute Case Analysis

Article Resources

10.     Supporting Citations, Literature & Resources

11.     About the Author


Sample Injury Advocates Group Lawyer Recoveries


$1,700,000

____________________

Side-Swipe Commercial Truck Accident

Catastrophic Injury

$1,500,000

____________________

T-Bone Commercial Truck Accident

Neck & Wrist Injury

$1,100,000

____________________

Rear-End Car Accident

Neck Injury

$1,000,000

____________________

Rear-End Commercial Truck Accident

Neck Injury

$1,000,000

____________________

T-bone Car Accident

Lower Back & Neck Injury

$950,000

____________________

Rear-End Car Accident

Lower Back Injury

$850,000

____________________

Side-Swipe Car Accident

Lower Back Injury

$800,000

____________________

Rear-End Car Accident

Hand Injury

$700,000

____________________

T-Bone Commercial Truck Accident

Catastrophic Injury

$650,000

____________________

Rear End Commercial Truck Accident

Neck Injury

$600,000

____________________

T-Bone Car Accident

Lower Back Injury

$550,000

____________________

Side-Swipe Car Accident

Lower Back Injury

$500,000

____________________

Rear-End Commercial Truck Accident

Back Injury

$450,000

____________________

Rear-End Car Accident

Neck Injury

$490,000

____________________

Rear-End Car Accident

Lower Back Injury

$300,000

____________________

Left-Turn Pickup-Truck Accident

Shoulder Injury

$300,000

____________________

Rear-End Car Accident

Back Injury

$250,000

____________________

Left-Turn Motorcycle Accident

Back Injury

$230,000

____________________

Rear-End Pickup Truck Accident

Hip Injury

$220,000

____________________

Side-Wipe Commercial Truck Accident

Arm Injury

$200,000

____________________

Side-Wipe Motorcycle Accident

Shoulder Injury

$200,000

____________________

Rear-End Car Accident

Lower Back Injury

$200,000

____________________

Right-Turn Pickup Truck Accident

Neck Injury

$190,000

____________________

Side-Swipe Car Accident

Back Injury

$185,000

____________________

Rear-End Car Accident

Hip Injury

$170,000

____________________

Side-Swipe Commercial Truck Accident

Hip Injury

$130,000

____________________

Rear-End Car Accident

Neck Injury

$120,000

____________________

T-Bone Pickup Truck Accident

Neck Injury

$112,000

____________________

T-Bone Car Accident

Back Injury

$110,000

____________________

Left-Turn Car Accident

Shoulder Injury

$110,000

____________________

Left-Turn Car Accident

Back & Neck Injury

$105,000

____________________

T-Bone Car Accident

Chest Injury

$100,000

____________________

Side-Swipe Car Accident

Hand Injury

$100,000

____________________

Rear-End Car Accident

Neck Injury

$100,000

____________________

Rear-End Car Accident

Back Injury

$100,000

____________________

T-Bone Car Accident

Back Injury

$100,000

____________________

Rear-End Car Accident

Shoulder Injury

$98,000

____________________

Rear-End Car Accident

Lower Back Injury

$90,000

____________________

Rear-End Car Accident

Neck Injury


Difference Between “Recovered” Results & “Settlements and Verdicts”


Above is a list of some of the settlement amounts our lawyers recovered for injured clients.

Why do we emphasize the word “recovered”?  Many lawyers advertise their “verdicts and settlements.”  This conceals the fact that not all verdicts and settlements are collected for the client.  As examples, consider the following three scenarios:

Example 1:  Inadequate Insurance Policies

  An attorney may achieve a $3,000,000 verdict, but there is inadequate insurance available to cover that verdict or the insurer goes bankrupt and can’t satisfy the judgment, resulting in a $1,000,000 recovery.

Example 2:  Non-Recoverable Judgment

 A lawyer may pursue a case for a family member against an uninsured defendant and achieves a $1,000,000 verdict where only $1,000 is actually recovered.

Example 3:  Result Reduced on Appeal

 A $2,000,000 verdict may be reduced on appeal to $300,000.

In these three common scenarios, it is more accurate to represent the $1,000,000, $1,000, and $300,000 recovery.  Despite that, many lawyers advertise the larger number to impress and attract clients.

In contrast, every result reported on our website represents actual dollars recovered from an insurance company on behalf of injured victims that a lawyer on our team represented.


Priorities
Client Settlement Goals v. Law Firm Settlement Goals


Non-Monetary Goals

We strive to ensure we are providing our clients the greatest financial recovery possible that meets their specific goals.

The last part of that is emphasized because your goals are quite often not measured in purely economic values.  Sometimes, as a person injured in an accident, you have a different goal.

Here are some examples of goals other injured people like you, whom we have spoken with, have had:

   You do not want to be deposed / questioned by a defense or insurance lawyer

   You do not want your child to testify in a public courtroom

  You want to prevent the insurance company from digging through your medical past

You need a guarantee that the lawyer you hire will push your goal as a priority, even if it means sacrificing case value and attorneys’ fees.  The last mistake you should make is hiring a lawyer who will push you in a direction that prioritizes her or his goals.

How IAG Puts You First

This is something that Injury Advocates Group guarantees.  You, and your goals, come first.  Call us, and ask how we can help maximize your recovery while resolving your case in a way that stays within your big picture objectives.

This may sound like an obvious goal for all lawyers, but it is not.  Even the most advanced legal ethics curriculum does not specifically teach aspiring lawyers and new attorneys how to balance a personal injury client’s monetary goals against that client’s non-monetary goals.

This is something that we acquired through a gentle balance of compassion, emotional intelligence, and aggressive legal advocacy.  Because of this balance, we do not lose site of what your case is about – YOU!

Car Accident Settlement & Verdict Amounts Recovered


Lawyer Talk 411
Settlements are Discussed with Ranges


To understand what sense to make of the settlement amounts above, and how to calculate your case worth, you first have to learn about case “ranges.”

You then must speak with an attorney who understands the different case ranges for the combination of facts related to your auto personal injury claim.

Your Case Value Should Be Measured as a Range

There are a few different methods lawyers use to determine the average settlement potential for a specific case.  There is a general consensus about sources and methods, but there is no published requirement on it.

Different methods use different sources.  There may, or may not, be overlap between those sources.  Even when lawyers use the same methods and sources, and even if all of that is based on historical settlement amounts, the sample cases may not be the same.  This is true even if the source takes into account verdicts and settlements, which is more comprehensive that just settlements.

There is also the subjective bias of the lawyer and how aggressive or passive that lawyer is in valuing a settlement within a defined range.

The result is, no lawyer should discuss the value of a potential injury claim, as far as financial recovery goes, in terms of a specific value.  There is too much variance.  Injury settlement amounts should only be discussed in terms of case ranges; i.e., a range of likely outcomes.

Narrowing Your Settlement Value Range

Typically, the further a case moves towards trial, the more its true range becomes apparent.  Said differently, the case range becomes more and more narrow and predictable as the trial date gets closer and there are less unknowns.

That predictability could cost you.  That is because you are gambling how certain factors could play out in litigation.  Those could be factors that you could avoid via a pre-lawsuit settlement.

♦   Is your case value compromised? 

♦   Is it a better decision for you to settle early and avoid the volatility of how litigation may hurt your car accident settlement value? 

These are very nuanced questions.  We do brainstorming sessions with our team to answer these questions for all of our clients.  That is the depth of effort and care we bring for all our clients and their injury claims.

To learn more, call our toll-free number or e-mail us now at info@injuryag.com.

Two Sources of Accurate Case Range Values

Although the above car accident verdicts and settlements cannot be used to determine the average settlement after an injury, it can help provide some insight as to a possible range.

You would need many more results to determine the range for your case.  Even if you collected 10 apparently similar results from the internet, you could not reverse engineer your case range.

Why?  Because internet published results do not include the key facts that lead to that particular result.  There are only two sources that have an accurate set of samples from which you can reverse engineer a range for your case:

1 – A settlement and verdict database

2 – A lawyer with extensive experience with your case type

The first option is not a helpful source for non-lawyers because:

   You will not know which facts from the case were relevant to driving the value of the case result up or down

♦   You will have to spend hours and days reading legal summaries of cases to have a sufficient sample size

♦   Car Accident Verdicts and Settlements databases cost money and require subscriptions

♦   Non-lawyers will not know which databases are more reliable, often relying on free or incomplete databases

The first point is the most important.  You could spend days compiling a list of what you believe are analogous cases, with outlined facts.  Despite that, you would not know how and whether that relates to your case because you would not know which facts drove up or down the value of that case, and the weight you should assign to each fact.

This is in large part because there are too many intangibles that you will not know about, including how the largest component in your case – pain and suffering – can fluctuate substantially depending on how it’s positioned by a lawyer.

Case Results Provide a Sample Framework

Some of our larger results were listed above.  Based on what you learned about ranges and case values, you understand that you cannot accurately determine your settlement amounts average, or range, based on 2-4 facts, or only 10 sample cases.  Over a hundred factors are relevant to this discussion.

Some of those variables may apply to you.  Some of those variables may impact your case value more than it may for another person with the same injury and case type.  The analysis, and the discussion, is fluid, like the stock market.  This is why you need to speak with a lawyer to understand the accurate value of your case.


Pain & Suffering Settlement Focus


The Pain & Suffering Model

Painful & Suffering

The limited sources of reliable case range valuations is why you need an experienced motor vehicle accident lawyer to assess your case, and not a lawyer that does a little of this and a little of that, with car accidents being just a slice of that attorney’s practice.

At Injury Advocates Group, we have more than that minimum qualification.  We focus on assessing the weight of the non-economic facts – with a particular focus on your pain, suffering, and what you are really going through – which drive up the value of your case.

 

A focus on maximizing pain and suffering results is acquired only through intentional effort.

We know car accident lawyers who have been practicing law for 30+ years and they still rely on settlement calculators which, as we explain below, is a terrible idea.

Using a settlement calculator is an easy shortcut, which is why a lot of lawyers use them.  Be warned – a lawyer using a settlement calculator is likely running a law firm on a “churn and burn” business model.

Years of Research Done for You

To focus on maximizing pain and suffering, and to get away from using a settlement calculator, we took the time to sit down and review the hundreds of cases that our lawyers handled.  We went through each case and asked mindful questions, such as, why did this client get 3x more than other, similar, cases that we have had?

By spending months analyzing all our cases, we found patterns.  Based on those patterns, we outlined success paths to help us find ways to maximize your non-economic damages case value.

The result is, if there is a path towards maximizing your case, we know how to find it.

We do not need trial and error, and we do not need to guess which path will get you the best results.  We know how to find the most financially viable path in your non-economic damages case because we know the answer and which path to take, based on years of case studies.

Do NOT Rely on Settlement Calculators

 

This is why a car accident settlement calculator is worthless.  They suggest that you can get a feel for how much your case is worth based purely on objective, numeric figures.

We wrote a detailed article explaining why they are worthless, and it is worth a read if you are considering using one of these calculators (or already did!).

Stay away from any lawyer that uses these to tell you what your car accident settlement amounts average is.  Those lawyers fail to put sufficient weight on the human element of your case.  Instead, they often put too much weight on medical bill amounts.

As you know, your medical bills do not explain how you feel, and what you are going through.  You need a genuine, compassionate lawyer to find out how much your case may be worth.

What you need is genuine car accident settlement advice.  You will not get that online.  You need to call and speak with a lawyer to get to the heart of your case.


Analyzing Settlement & Verdict Values


Apparently Similar Cases Can Have Vastly Different Results

You may notice that some cases, based on the car accident settlement amounts and verdicts above, seem very similar, yet have very different results.  This is because over a hundred factors impact what a vehicle accident case or claim is worth.

It is impossible to fully understand a case’s worth, or how your case compares to the likely outcomes above, without having a skilled attorney do a deep dive into your case to search for, find, and utilize specific case strengths to maximize your case value.

Historical & Average Settlements & Verdicts Are Deceiving

As just one example of why you should speak with a lawyer, we’ll discuss using prior settlement or verdict amounts to determine the value of your case.

One government study noted that 3% of tort cases go to verdict.  Another website suggests that the average compensation in personal injury cases is $52,900.

Why are these data points relevant to a discussion of why your case is unique?  The following questions illustrate the point:

♦   Did you know that almost all good cases settle, so cases that go to verdict usually have some bad facts?

♦   Did you know that most cases that go to trial have issues which compromise the case value?

♦   Did you know almost every year there is a $25,000,000+ personal injury verdict in the US?

You cannot use averages of historical verdicts or settlements to evaluate your case because you do not know what other factors, aside from very rudimentary facts, caused that case to reach that outcome.

Maybe a case settled for a big number because the plaintiff’s lawyer got the defense expert excluded from trial (our lawyers have accomplished this).

Maybe it settled low because the plaintiff was caught being untruthful in his or her testimony (we have had this happen to us).

Maybe the “average” being used is for a year where there were nearly $5 BILLION dollars in talcum powder personal injury verdicts, which is distorting the accurate value of your personal injury case.

Your Case is Unique

This all boils down to one point.  Your case is unique.  You deserve to have a lawyer who understands this.  You need a lawyer who knows how to cut through the fog of case results to find out what the most likely average settlement amount is for YOUR case.

That’s what we do.  With that knowledge in hand, we push the limits for our clients and get them the best results possible, aiming for the top of the range in their case value.

We give this a lot of thought, and work hard to  make sure we do not leave money on the table when bringing you closure for your case.


Accident Settlement Q&A


What happens when my accident settlement exceeds the limit?

Depending on how your attorney handled the settlement negotiation process, if your verdict exceeds the policy limits you may be able to collect every penny that exceeds the verdict.  You can also recover on a settlement that exceeds the policy limits, but that will only happen if the person, hospital, or negligent actor who caused your injury agrees to pay out-of-pocket, on top of the policy, for that excess amount.

For example, if the policy is $100,000, you could demand $105,000.  That could happen, in theory, if the insurance company for the defendant offers up its $100,000 policy and then chips in another $5,000 out of pocket.  In practice, for many reasons, this will almost never happen.

Are settlements public record?

Yes, many settlements are a matter of public record, unless the amount is made confidential.  Often times the settlement amount is entered on the Court’s docket, and available online.  Other times, settlement databases like the ones discussed above will discover the settlement amount and report it in their database.  If it was a noteworthy settlement, it could make headlines in local legal publications.  However, the majority of settlements are not public.  If this is a concern for you, speak with your lawyer about settlement confidentiality.

How do i maximize my settlement?

The best way to maximize your settlement is to assume the case is not settling, and prepare the claim with the same thoroughness needed to try the case in front of a jury.  That forces you to complete a variety of due-diligence steps which makes the case rock solid for economic, non-economic, and punitive damages.  We have in-house checklists we use for this process, which focus on nuanced development of your pain and suffering, non-party witness development, and building your case around marketable themes which we know obtain top settlements.

How much is an average settlement?

An average car accident settlement is approximately $25,000.  Fall injuries in medical facilities hover around $150,000.  Bedsore claims average around $250,000.  But these averages are fairly useless for the reasons explained above.

With more facts, a more accurate range can be provided.  Each case will have dozens, likely over a hundred, case specific facts.  That combination of facts will dictate how much your case is worth.  It is worth repeating that average settlement amounts are worthless for figuring out the value of your case, because there are too many highs ($1,000,000+ settlements) and lows ($5,000 settlements) for the average number to represent anything helpful, unless it is for insurance actuarial purposes.


What Injury Advocates Group Does For You


Car Accident Injury Amounts

Millions Recovered

Injury Advocates Group lawyers have helped hundreds of personal injury claimants.  Our lawyers have recovered over $35,000,000 for injured victims around the country.  The above results represent a sample of our larger recoveries.

No Case is Too Small

We have fought for $2,500 for a client in a minor case with a few weeks of neck pain, and have fought for $2,500,000 in a tractor-trailer accident.  No case is too small or big for our legal team to handle.

If you have been hurt, you deserve fair compensation commensurate with your injuries and we are here to help you achieve that outcome.

No matter the size of your case or what your injuries are, you deserve a fair settlement amount for your injury, and that’s what we will fight to get you.

Committed Legal Team

Each case is different and the above results do not guarantee that your case will achieve the same results.  However, these results do demonstrate our work ethic, skill, and commitment to success when fighting for your well being and helping ensure you get a fair settlement amount for your claim.  We treat every client like a member of our family, and work tirelessly to get you the same justice we would pursue if we were in your shoes.

We Aim for the Policy Limits

You may notice many of our results are close to, if not exactly at, 100k.  These 100k settlement amounts are because a 100k car insurance liability policy per person is fairly common.

GEICO in fact uses it on its website to explain liability policy limits.  When you see a 100k settlement, it almost always means we got every penny of available money available for the client.

This does not mean 100k car accident settlement recoveries are common.  You need a lawyer who will push your case to its limits to recover the policy limits, and that’s what we do.

We actually do more than aim for the policy limits.  Whenever the opportunity is there, we position and set your case up to recover more than the policy limits.

That requires a special type of litigation savvy, and willingness to spend resources on your case, which is something we are willing to do.

Do You Have a Policy Limits Case?

Clients often hear or see the above results and ask “how much should my settlement be”?  Should it also be 100k if that’s the policy limits in my case?”  Maybe yes, and maybe no.

What we guarantee is that we will search for a path forward that will get you as close to the policy limits as possible.  We mean that literally.

For example.  We look for creative ways to find value in cases, searching far beyond the medical bills and lost wages.  If there is a path to make it happen, in every case we aim for, and even beyond, the policy limits.


30 Minute Free Consultation


The Injury Advocates Group legal time is ready to help you.  If you suffered a personal injury caused by someone else anywhere in the Country, and need a personal injury lawyer, the first 72 hours are the most important.  Do not go it alone during this important time.

If the first 72 hours have passed, it’s even more important that you call an attorney immediately.  We will work quickly to protect your claim’s value and undo any damage that was done to the claim since the accident happened.  We will provide settlement advice and litigation advice, and explain to you the whole picture of what is involved in your case.

Call us, or send us an e-mail at info@injuryag.com, for a no risk 30 minute free consultation to discuss how our legal team can advocate for you.


Supporting Citations, Literature & Resources:

Bureau of Justice Statistics Bulletin: Tort Cases in Large Counties, April 1995, U.S. Dept. of Justice

Pain and Suffering, Noneconomic Damages, and the Goals of Tort Law, SMU Law Review Vol. 57 Iss. 1, 2004, Joseph H. King Jr.

Car Insurance Quotes, 2018, GEICO

Johnson & Johnson Loses Bid to Overturn $4.7 Billion Baby Powder Verdict, December 2018, New York Times

Personal Injury: How Much Can I Expect to Get?, August 2016, Lawyers.com

Verdict Search Database, Law.com

Jury Verdicts & Settlements Database, Thomson Reuters

How emotional intelligence makes you a better lawyer, October 2017, American Bar Association

Teaching Ethics and Professionalism, April 2018, Harvard Law School’s Center on the Legal Profession

About the Author

Article Author:  This law article was written by attorney Ray Benyamin, Esquire.  Mr. Benyamin received his Juris Doctor degree from the Thomas Jefferson School of Law, and his license to practice law from the State Bar of California.  His law license number is 277263.  He has been practicing law for 10 years.  Mr. Benyamin is a registered member of the following legal organizations: Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA), the Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA), the State Bar of California, the American Bar Association (ABA), and the American Association for Justice (AAJ).  Mr. Benyamin has personally helped his clients recover over $35,000,000 in personal injury claims.

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